


First Time Flyer

by emetoandotherthings



Category: Original Work
Genre: Emetophilia, Fear of Flying, Flying, Gen, Graphic Depictions of Illness, Travel Sickness, Vomiting, air sickness, emeto
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2019-11-04
Packaged: 2021-01-23 04:40:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21314338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emetoandotherthings/pseuds/emetoandotherthings
Summary: Prompt: A first time flyer who can't tell if they're queasy from nerves or turbulenceWarning: Includes vomiting
Kudos: 18





	First Time Flyer

There was good reason why Eppie had bought herself a car as soon as she passed her driving test. Having her own car meant no more public transport – no more buses, which had been the bane of her life. It also meant that whenever the gang decided to go anywhere she got to be the driver so she didn’t have to beg for the front seat like she’d had to before. 

So when Eden, Jude and her had begun to plan a trip down to London to go and see Wicked for her birthday she assumed that she would be the driver. But when it somehow came out that she’d never been on a plane before, Jude seemed determined to make this the first time.

“But I don’t have a passport!” She’d claimed, even though that was a downright lie – she’d gotten a new passport when she legally changed her name.

“You don’t need one when you’re flying inside the UK,” Jude grinned, “your driving licence will do.” So her main argument had been defeated in seconds; she didn’t really want to admit that she was terrified of flying. 

“But you’ve been abroad…” Eden said shrewdly, as she rapidly tried to conjure up another argument as to why it was better for them to go by car.

“Yeah, we went on cruises…” she answered. Every year her family had gone on a different cruise, mainly because Eppie’s mum was also petrified of flying. They’d been to France, Spain, Finland, Norway, pretty much anywhere that they could get to on a boat. But Jude had made up his mind , they were flying and that was it – he found cheap flights and booked them before Eppie could think of another reason for them not to.

So instead of being excited about their London trip and getting to finally see Wicked, she spent the week running up to it in various states of panic. She tried to think of reasons why she couldn’t fly, she even considered pretending to be ill so they’d have to cancel altogether. But she couldn’t do that – not after they’d booked their hotel and everything else. She was just going to have to do it – and hope it wasn’t as bad as she was envisaging in her mind. 

By the morning of their flight she was struggling to hide her nerves. Her insides felt like they’d been turned to liquid, simultaneously boiling and freezing within her at equal measure; and her hands were trembling so badly that she dropped her passport (that she’d _miraculously_ found) and boarding pass twice when she checked in. When Eden commented on this she tried to play it down:

“I’m just really excited about going to London!” She said, realising that her voice sounded almost as shaky as she felt. Eden had raised his eyebrows, but hadn’t pressed her further. 

The whole process of being in an airport sent Eppie into a panic, going through security was horrible as she was sure everyone was staring at her and she couldn’t quite figure out why. Eden cornered her when Jude went to buy himself something to drink, even though she tried to avoid looking directly at him. 

“What’s going on Eppie?”

“Nothing!” She answered much too fast and shook her head violently.  
“You don’t fool me,” Eden said, his voice low; he reached out and gently touched her trembling hand. “You’re shaking like a leaf…”

“I’ve never been on a plane before because I’m terrified of flying.” Her words left her in a rush, as though she couldn’t hold them in any longer and wanted to get them out before Jude came back.

“Oh god Eppie…” Eden groaned, his hand going to his face in a sign of sudden realisation. “Why didn’t you just tell us that?”

“It all happened so fast! Jude had planned it and I couldn’t think of a reason why we shouldn’t.” She admitted, her breathing erratic as she tried not to let the panic rise further up in her chest and overwhelm her. 

“You could have told me,” Eden squeezed her hand and shook her head again.  
“I didn’t know what to say…” She shook her head again. “It’s not like I’ve had a bad experience or something… just no experience.”

“It’ll be fine, I promise,” he reassured her. She looked terrified; her face paler than normal and her eyes wide and alert. “Come here.” Eden pulled her into a hug which she lingered in for a moment before tearing herself away. 

“I can’t…” She said, her voice thick as her eyes filled with tears. 

“Oh Eppie…” Eden rubbed her upper arm where his hand was, but over his shoulder Eppie had spotted that Jude was on his way back.

“Ssssh, Jude’s coming back,” Eppie muttered, rapidly trying to compose herself. “Don’t tell him.”

“I’ve got to Eppie!” Eden protested, but she frowned at him. 

“Sssh!” She reprimanded, and she was glad when Eden said nothing as Jude joined them. 

When the voice over the tannoy announced that their flight was boarding Jude jumped up from the metal seats they had been waiting in for the past quarter of an hour, but Eppie wanted to spend as long as she could on dry land, so she stalled for time by running to the toilets again. She looked at herself in the mirror, her face was definitely paler than it normally was, and she was looking a little bit sweaty. She clutched her hands on either side of the sink and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down – another hour and a half and they’d be in London and it’d all be over.

She knew Eden was watching her closely when she returned, and she tried to hide how scared she felt. Her heart was thumping so hard and fast in her chest that it blocked out all other sound; the cabin crew at the door were smiling and welcoming everyone on board, but Eppie couldn’t smile back. Her knees were trembling and she found it hard to keep standing while trying to follow Eden down the aisle. She wanted to run – to get off the plan and onto solid ground. Being sat in the seat made things a little easier; her heart was still racing and she gripped the armrests tightly. 

“Close your eyes,” Eden whispered, he was on Eppie’s right side next to the window, by whispering he could prevent Jude from hearing. “Take a few deep breaths, and try to go to sleep.” She did as Eden suggested, feeling his hand rest comfortingly on top of hers on the armrest. She could still hear blood rushing in her ears as her pulse continued to bound, and there was an odd light headed sensation even as she took deep, slow breaths. It got even worse as the thrum of engines grew louder, and she could feel the plane moving. She could feel the speed building and realised that she was holding her breath. A strange pressure seemed to force her head and chest further back into the seat – similar to the beginning of a roller coaster. Her ears popped as the plane made its ascent, and she tried to relax as there was no turning back, but her muscles were so tense that she couldn’t straight away. She had to consciously focus on relaxing from her toes up – first her toes and feet, then her calves; slowly working her way up, using her breathing as a guide. She reached her chest but instantly knew that even deep breathing wasn’t going to work. 

Then she felt something – a jolt, and all of her muscles instinctively tightened up again; her eyes snapped open. 

“What was that?” She asked, her mouth was completely dry as she looked from Eden to Jude. 

“Nothing, just the plane settling,” Jude answered, but as he replied the plane gave another small wobble. Everything clenched in Eppie’s abdomen, and suddenly her stomach seemed to be making similar jolting movements as the plane. She turned to look at Eden, who was smiling at her. 

“You’re doing really well,” he kept his voice as low as he could, “keep trying to rest and we’ll be there before you know it.”

She rested her head back, forcing her eyes shut, but the lurching sensation in her stomach that had started with the jolting of the plane wasn’t settling. In face her stomach felt like it was rocking to and fro in her and she couldn’t tell whether it was from her heightened nerves or from the movement of the plane. Whatever it was, she was rapidly realising that the queasy feeling was only getting worse. Her head was heavy as she opened her eyes, breathing in and out through her nose. She moved her hand from the armrest to her stomach, she pressed lightly and felt a sloshing inside her; she tried to shift in her seat without being noticed.

“Eppie, you okay?” Eden asked in a quiet voice beside her, she was about to say she was fine when she looked up at him, and the genuine concern in his eyes broke her down. 

“I – _ulp_…” As Eppie opened her mouth a short burp rolled out, and her hand flew up, her fingers covering her mouth. She swallowed as her cheeks began to burn and her stomach gave another uncomfortable burble, then took a deep breath. “I can’t tell if I’m queasy because of my nerves, or cause of the plane…” 

“Um… I’ve got some water here,” Eden sat up straighter, fishing in the pocket in the seat in front of him and producing a bottle which he handed to her. “You are a wee bit pale… don’t you have a calming breathing technique that you taught me?”

“I’ve been doing it…” she admitted, taking a sip and feeling the cold water travel all the way down her throat; as soon as it reached her stomach the unsettled gurgling increased. She lowered her head as another belch escaped her and she shook her head. “Eden I really don’t feel well.”

“Right, are you feeling sick?” Eden asked, he noticed she was breathing shallowly as she nodded.

“I think…” she paused as the queasiness dialled up a notch and her mouth had gone from as dry as the Sahara desert to feeling like the Niagara falls were now in her mouth. “I need to wake up Jude and get to the bathroom.” Jude was asleep in the chair on the other side of her. 

“Are you going to be sick?” Eden said before she could do anything, watching closely as she swallowed in discomfort. 

“I think so…” She really didn’t want to but the churning in her belly made her feel like it was inevitable; Eden was raking in the pocket again, pulling out a paper bag. “No – I can’t.”

“You won’t make it to the toilet, trust me,” Eden told her, opening the bag and holding it out to her. “What if there’s someone in there?” Eppie hadn’t thought about that, a hot flash travelled from her head down and she felt something forcing up her throat. She scrambled for the bag in desperation, lurching forward with a gag, her cheeks puffing out as another belch preceded a harsh heave. “Turn towards me,” Eden forced her round slightly so her back was facing the aisle. Something about the sudden movement, or sound, had woken Jude and he looked perturbed as he saw Eppie holding the paper bag up over her nose and mouth. 

“What’s going on?” He blurted, louder than Eden would have wanted him to; he caught Eden’s eye over Eppie’s shoulder. Eden made a face as Eppie continued to breathe heavily into the bag. 

“Eppie’s not feeling too great…” Eden explained in a low voice.

“Can I do anything?” Jude offered, keeping the volume of his voice to a minimum. 

“I’ve never going on a plane again…” Eppie moaned, her voice muffled by the bag. “I’m mortified…”

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it,” Eden reassured her, touching her hand to try and show he meant it. Both the boys heard the burp at the back of her throat, and her head dipped as a rush of liquid splashed into the bag. She’d hoped that after that mouthful she’d be done – but instantly she heaved again and felt the huge gush of puke leaving her mouth and nose. “It’s okay Eppie, just get it out.” Eden put his hand on her knee, squeezing gently; his own stomach gave a nauseating lurch at the sound of the next gurgling retch and the sight of the puke making the bag bulge slightly. “Jude, go an’ rub her back please?” Jude obliged, his hand rubbing firmly across the top of her back. At the same time he used his other hand to call for a member of the cabin crew, and Eppie was still heaving when she arrived.

“Is she alright?” The young hostess sounded alarmed, Jude wondered if she was worried in case Eppie was contagious. 

“Yeah, she’s just afraid of flying…” Eden explained calmly, Jude’s head snapped round to look at Eden, bewildered, then recomposed himself to ask:  
“Could you bring us some tissues please?” From beside him Eppie gave a deep belch into the bag. “And perhaps another bag?” Eppie lifted her head an inch away from the bag, thinking the smell was making her queasiness worse. She closed her eyes again, resting her head back; very cautiously Eden removed the nearly full bag from her hands, folding the top over and looking nauseated himself. “You didn’t say anything about flying…”

“Not now,” Eden shook his head; the hostess returned, and handed Jude the requested tissues and bag, she’d brought some water too. She took the used bag away to dispose of it, and Jude opened the new one as a precaution, but it didn’t look like Eppie needed it. Her hands had moved to rest lightly on her stomach and she was breathing slowly, but she didn’t seem to be about to throw up again. Eden and Jude watched her closely, looking out for any signs. 

“How much longer have we got to go?” She asked eventually, still with her eyes closed.

“Not long now,” Eden said, “We’ll be landing in about twenty minutes.”

“Good,” she muttered, then fell silent for such a long time that Eden was sure she must have dozed off. 

A voice came over the tannoy announcing their descent into Heathrow. They were nearly there, Eppie gave a sudden gasp and her eyes snapped open; Jude hurriedly brought up the bag, but she shook her head. 

“I’ve just remembered…” she sounded horrified. “I’ve got to fly back, don’t I?” She looked from Jude to Eden, hoping one of them would deny it. 

“Oh yeah…” Jude mumbled, looking down at his lap. 

“It’ll be fine,” Eden said, a quiet confidence in his voice. 

“How will it be?!” She asked sounding panicked. 

“Because half an hour before you get on the plane you’re going to take an antihistamine and a vodka,” he replied. 

“What’ll that do?” 

“I guarantee it’ll knock you out for the entire flight home.” Eden assured. 

“I’ll hold you to that…” Eppie closed her eyes, gripping her stomach even tighter as the plane came in to land. 


End file.
